B I R T H D A Y

What does this word means to you… or affect you? beside it makes you wiser than yesterday.

Birthday can mean everything and may not to some people, but one thing for sure… it is a very special day to me.

Spend an hour or two to be with yourself and think what have you done or given yourself the last one year… did you treat yourself good? did you appreciate yourself?

Talking about celebration….what do you normally do during this special day. Whether you are alone or with someone special, you should celebrate this day. Celebrate doesn’t mean it should be a big one… depends on what makes you happy. It can be as simple as go for a movie or go for a vacation.
When you are busy celebrating your bid day, just remember to… perhaps…thanks to someone up there who give you another day to live.

What to Give in Return

What would you do when your friends, colleagues or anybody have given something (in a form of gift, cash or anything) during an occasion you are celebrating?

When come to think about this, I realize that some people seem not to take this matter seriously. From my experience, they (the receiver) just receive with wide-open hand without having to crack their head what to give in return.

We (the giver), actually do not ask for anything in return, but for a courtesy sake, can't the receiver just acknowledge it by giving back something practical that makes everybody happy - rather than giving a thing (you should know well) that some people will not appreciate. I'm surprised that some people out there, after having mixed around with so many people from different background (you readers should know who I mean) still couldn't think of what practical and what not to give in return.

In my opinion, the simplest thing to give in return is food - but remember, not anykind of food. The best would be either cake or chocolate. Open your mind and think, do these cake and chocholate really cost you a fortune (unless you are buying it from the Loaf?? MO?? or Shang?? - I don't think these places (MO/Shang) will hole your pocket for a whole cake). Try to put yourself in the giver's shoe. Don't you want to have something good?

Well, different people have different piece of mind. To me "try to be as far more practical as possible" because it is not that the giver is asking something in return but we as a receiver want to feel good and happy when we know that the giver feels good and happy to receive our returns - aka "win-win situation".

Just take a minute or two of your precious time to give this matter a thought.

Picture: courtesy of www.esn.po.opole.pl/gfx/cakes.jpg and www.go4cocoa.com

Happy New Year & Welcome 2008!

picture courtesy of istockphoto.com

Today, 31 December - is the last day for year 2007. We have gone through 12 months or 365 days or 8760 hours or 525,600 minutes or 31,536,000 seconds for year 2007 – time flies. It is like yesterday we stepped into 2007 and now we are saying goodbye.

Take a minute or two to look back what have we done through these times. Have we fulfilled the resolution we made during the beginning of 2007? Also, think back what we’ve done good to ourselves, our family, our love ones and people around us.

2008 will show its face in a few hours, so what do you have in your “wish-list” or “things to do”? Will it be totally a new list or a “bring forward of those 2007”? My 2008 “wish-list” is:

Save money
Do charity work
Be more tolerance
Stay at 3.5&above pointer
Start up my own business
To write more

Hopefully, I manage to keep up with the above list - the same thing we say when we start a new resolution :-). Well, whatever it is just try to accomplish as many as possible. Lets hope for the best but at the same time, we must work out to make it happen.

Let us welcome 2008 with a hope that its going to be a smooth and peaceful sailing towards the end and don’t forget to say goodbye and thankful to 2007 that had made us older by one year and wiser (at the same time) :-).

My Sweet Little One - Update 1

Hi, its kids time again.... remember these children???

Received the following pictures recently and OMG they've grown up - but still cute like before. Moris now 3 (born on 20/09/04) whilst Roman going to be 1 this coming January (born on 10/01/07) - time flies......

To Moris and Roman, love and miss you so much boys....

Lonely & Someone to Turn To

Lonely.... this feeling sometimes "knock" our door. Why do people feel lonely? - simply because you are alone - you don't have anyone to turn to or anyone you can call your "friend", "family" or "loved ones".

One can fill their life with lots of activities to avoid being lonely but there is time when one really needs someone in their life. Needed someone in your life doesn't mean that it must be a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" - it can be anything e.g. friends, family, etc.

Different people have different ways to overcome "LONELY". Some people will simply make themselves busy, some people will get theirselves close to someone, finding more friends, so on and so forth but remember this..... getting close to someone might inturn hurt you when they walk out of your life.

It is good to have at least 1 friend apart from your family to share your ups and downs as you can't share everything with your family - but there is some people out there who can do this.... (definitely not me).

It really hurts and put you into frustration when the time you need somebody, but no one there for you. Have you ever trap in this situation???? - it really hurts. What do you do if you are in this situation?

"The only way to have a friend is to be on" ... by Waldo Emerson ...

"If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page" ...by Mark Houlahan...

"Don't ask for an easier life; ask to be a stronger person" ... by Kristen Goeser...

The Cat City..... Kuching

Kuching a.k.a. Cat City... we were there last August '07 - a yearly outing by HRKL's girls. It is exactly a year when we were in Langkawi for our first outing. This time the same group is heading to Kuching with Sally managed to join us and Felicia who left HR early this year - still joining us.

We are taking the first flight out of KL at 7am and the worst part... we have to meet at KL Sentral at half past four in the morning. Don't even have time for breakfast. You readers may and must be saying we are crazy, kiasu, etc... - yes, we are. I don't really sleep that night as am excited and afraid of being overslept.

First thing upon arrival.... find a breakfast.

Having breakfast at one of the restaurant in Kuching Waterfront.

Me and Mok - munching a biscuit while waiting for our food.

After breakfast, straight to our so called "villa" in Santubong - Permai Rainforest Resort. Quite a distance from Kuching city.

Start our programme with a visit to their cultural village - walking distance from Permai Rainforest Resort. God... it was so hot there - all of us couldn't take it and the worst, being "puteri lilin" myself and Sally!

Managed to borrow umbrellas from the resort.

At one of the "long-houses"

Look at this bamboo bridge... its interesting, though a bit scarry

Playing ??? (don't know what is this called) - my feet stucked in between the bamboos once... arrrghhhh!

Look at their stairs (made from coconut tree)

Auntie dare not to climb this stair. Poor her, she has to wait for us one floor down. I try to find ways so that Auntie can join us. Yeay... I found a way.

Auntie... so happy upon reaching the top floor.

Take a rest here, we are sweating and worst... wind not blowing!

Late afternoon we finished our tour in the cultural village - walk back to our "villa". Get ready for dinner and some of us plan to go to the beach.

Go to the beach, get wet and watch sun set. The scenery is fantastic.

So peaceful... just the sound of the wave

"Sun set in Santubong"

We check-out the next day. Have our breakfast and I must tell you this... the tea is so nice. I've got addicted and lost count of how many cups I've consumed.

Today, we gonna go around Kuching city, visit few places of interest and the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.

At the reception of Permai Rainforest Resort

Look at Sally....

At the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre

Two of the Orang Utans having their dinner

Semenggoh WC is our last stop. We head back to Kuching city. Take a ride in a small sampan crossing Sarawak river - the fare is only 30 cents. We are in the same sampan crossing back to Kuching Waterfront - the sampan owner try to con us.

This is the man who tries to con us.

Get back to our "hotel", shower and get ready for a "big dinner". We gonna have seafood tonight at the Rooftop. OMG... the amount of food we order like 10 days never get to eat - a lot! You guy guest whether we finish our food or not....

We walk back to "hotel" and along the way, the youngsters are wasting their time "melepak" at Kuching waterfront. I plan to go for a clubbing but seeing this situation, dare not to go - just relax in the "hotel". Few of them go for a foot massage.

In front of our "hotel" reception - its cozy here.

Today our plan is... whatelse if not shopping. But first thing in the morning we are going to Satok - Sunday market. OMG..... all kind of things you can find here - fresh vegetables, fruits, souvenirs, etc. After our first-round shopping, head back to "hotel" and walk to China Town to have a second-round breakfast, then we stroll along Kuching Waterfront doing our second-round shopping.

Take a break for lunch. We go to the Rooftop again for seafood lunch. After lunch, walk back to "hotel" and some of us straight to Kuching Waterfront for a third-round shopping. After getting all the things we intend to buy, and here comes the tedious part - packing.

Around half past four we leave Kuching city for the airport - flight was delayed.... arrrghhhhh - gonna arrive KL late night. We doze off in the flight zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Arrive KL Sentral around quarter to eleven.

At Kuching Airport - its time to say good bye to "Cat city"

Cherish While It Entertains You

Was reading my friend's blog over the weekend and found the full lyrics of my favourite song - My Wish - by Rascal Flatts.

A lovely song full of positive message - if you look at it from a different angle, but this song suppose a wish & motivation from someone to another with a hope that that person realise someone loves him/her and wish him/her feels the same way.

Among the paragraphs that had touched me deeply:

... if you're faced with a choice and you have to choose, choose the one that means the most to you... if one door opens to another door closed, keep on walking till you find the window...

... if it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile...

... never look back but never forget, all the ones who love you in the place you left... always forgive and never regret.... help somebody every chance you get and always give more than you take...

I start to think, if I am in all these situations, will I do so? My answer to it: yes and no - guess my friends who know me will know which one is yes and which is no.....

Well, sometimes (girl, are you sure it sometimes?... not always???) it is easy to say than to practise. So to make it a practise, we should first... free ourself from being selfish, think of other people around us.

I once heard a motivator said "First, love yourself, followed by so many then". Doesn't this sounds contradicting from "free from being selfish". We always forget that this so called 'love' need to be shared among ourself and the 'then'. If we manage to share this 'love', we'll definitely being far far from 'selfish'.

Don't you agree with me?

Here some quotes I find interesting and should share this with you:

I - Avoid it

We - Use it

Ego - Kill it

Love - Value it

Smile - Keep it

Rumor - Ignore it

Success - Achieve it

Knowledge - Acquire it

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."